Talk about international embarrassment. The All India Chess Federation (AICF) has filed a complaint with police after the 2022 Chess Olympiad trophy went missing from their office. Currently, the 2024 Olympiad is taking place in Budapest, and the International Chess Federation (FIDE) requested the AICF to bring the trophy to Hungary. It then came to light that the Gaprindashvili Trophy had gone missing.
“After we had received a request from FIDE for the trophy to be brought, we have been unable to trace it for over 30 days. As a result, we have filed an official police complaint, and an investigation will follow,” AICF vice-president Anil Kumar Raizada told PTI.
The AICF left no stone unturned yet found themselves emptyhanded. Understanding how poorly this reflects on the organization, they’ve ordered a replacement trophy that will be given to the FIDE, which will be a like-for-like replacement of the original 2022 Chess Olympiad trophy.
“Yes, we tried to look for it all around following FIDE’s request. However, we have been unable to locate it so far. It is indeed an embarrassing situation, and these things require utter responsibility. For now, a replacement trophy has been ordered. It won’t be as unique as the original, but still, it will be close to the original one. We apologise for the mess,” a senior AICF official told PTI.
India’s 2024 Chess Olympiad contingent
Open: Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and Harikrishna Pentala
Women: Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Tania Sachdev
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